The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 149

Chapter 149 Warm-Up?

Chapter 149 Warm-Up?

“Come on, take a whiff. Do you really think a simple wash will fix these socks? They need to be boiled, soaked in

disinfectant, and scrubbed three times!” Blondie said.

Sunny let his guard down for a second, and Blondie actually managed to hold him down.

When Blondie shoved the socks under his nose, the stench hit Sunny so hard he jerked back, slapping the socks away

They landed with a wet slap on the concrete floor, spreading out like a squashed puddle of mud.

“Are you done yet?” Sunny raised his voice, the sound buzzing and echoing through the washroom.

“You’re whining about a pair of socks for ages. Are you even a man? What guy doesn’t have smelly socks?”

“Really? Is having stinky socks something to brag about?” Blondie retorted.

“Hey, what’s with the roughhousing?” Xavier called out.

“Who’s roughhousing? Nobody did anything!” Sunny shot back.

The commotion kept escalating, and soon a bunch of guys spilled out of their dorm rooms, crowding around to watch. Some had just finished showering, their hair still wet; others were only half-dressed; a few even dashed out barefoot, eager to see what was going on.

“What’s happening?” someone called out..

“There’s a fight in the washroom. Looks like it’s Blondie and Sunny,” another guy answered.

Natalie and Kelly were just stepping out to wash up when they saw the hallway ahead jam-packed with people, so crowded you couldn’t squeeze a drop of water through. Natalie frowned at the sight.

Just then, Noah came striding over from the dorm, barking out, “What are you doing over here?”

His voice slammed down the hallway like a club, and the crowd at the washroom door immediately parted to make way for him.

He glanced at the socks on the floor, then looked at the three of them. “What’s this supposed to be? You guys rebelling already? Planning something? Starting a fight on your very first day?”

The three of them stood frozen at the washroom door, like they’d just been singled out, no one dared to move.

“Go on, keep it up. Why’d you all suddenly go quiet?” Noah said, his voice low but with a hint of mockery.

“Wasn’t it pretty lively just now? I could hear you all the way from the other side of the dorm. Come on, keep talking. Let me hear what kind of socks could get everyone so worked up.”

No one said a word.

Sunny kept his head down; most of the blush had faded, but his face was still full of stubborn defiance.

Xavier stood next to him, lips pressed into a thin line, fingers gripping the seams of his pants.

Blondie was pouting, his cheeks puffed out, but he didn’t say a word.

Noah stared at them for three seconds, then turned to face the crowd of gawkers in the hallway.

“You all got nothing better to do? Got tomorrow’s training sorted? Checked your weighted packs? Got your bandages wrapped?” he barked.

His gaze swept over the crowd, and they scattered like wheat in the wind, rushing back into their dorm rooms.

In less than ten seconds, only Noah, Natalie, Kelly, Blondie, Sunny, Xavier, and a few people still washing up were left in the hallway.

Noah turned to Sunny, locking eyes with him.

“Alright, you go first. What’s going on?” he pressed.

Sunny swallowed hard.

“I… I was messing around with Xavier, and my socks accidentally fell into Blondie’s basin,” he said.

“Accidentally?” Noah repeated, his tone light, almost casual.

But Sunny felt the pressure anyway, and his head sank even lower.

“And then?” Noah pressed.

“Then Blondie was being rude and told us to pick them up, but we didn’t. That’s when we started arguing,” Sunny mumbled. Noah nodded, then turned to Xavier.

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Chapter 149 Warm-Up?

“Is that right?” he asked.

Xavier’s lips twitched. He gave a reluctant nod and mumbled, “Yeah.”

Finally, Noah turned to Blondie. “What about you? Anything you want to add?”

Blondie just looked at Noah with a deadpan face, like, ‘Whatever, that’s your problem, not mine.’

Noah took a deep breath at Blondie’s attitude. He knew Sunny and Xavier were the tough ones, just got bumped up to lieutenant in their unit.

He was quiet for a few seconds, then lifted his hand and pointed at Sunny, then at Xavier.

“You two, wash Blondie’s clothes yourselves. Then, run ten laps around the field. Don’t even think about sleeping until you’ re done,” Noah ordered.

Sunny jerked his head up, his lips parting like he was about to say something.

But Noah shot him a glare so sharp it cut him off before he could even open his mouth.

Then he turned to Blondie. “You, five laps.”

Blondie thought, ‘Not a bad deal.’ He didn’t bother hanging around and headed straight out to the field.

Sunny and Xavier grumbled under their breath, reluctantly heading off to wash Blondie’s clothes, still pissed but with no choice.

Noah shot them a couple more looks, then headed out. At the door, he and Natalie exchanged a glance, no words.

**

The next day, the assembly whistle blew at 4 a.m.

Everyone bolted out of their rooms, hearts pounding.

Sunny, who’d been punished with ten laps last night, felt his legs go weak as he sprang out of bed. His knee knocked against the bed frame, making him hiss in pain. Gritting his teeth, he pulled on his training uniform.

Xavier was quicker. He was already tying his shoelaces, but his fingers were still trembling, so he had to tie them twice before they were secure.

The field was lit up like daytime, the bright lights making everything look pale and washed out.

Noah stood at the front of the formation, stopwatch in hand.

Some guys in the formation still had their eyes half-shut.

Noah just gave them a quick look, no speech, no time announcement, didn’t bother with any extra words.

He stuffed the stopwatch into his pocket, turned to face the row of gray buildings at the edge of the field, and raised his hand, pointing toward the supply shed.

“Weighted packs, 20 kilos, five kilometers. Two minutes to get ready. Move!” Noah ordered.

“Twenty kilos?” The number made everyone pause for a second, caught off guard.

Surprisingly, that was lighter than yesterday.

Still, nobody dared to hang around. They all hurried off to grab their weighted packs.

Natalie, Blondie, Madison, and Sebastian were still out front, setting the pace for everyone else.

Since today’s cross-country run wasn’t a race, Natalie didn’t bother pushing herself. She just kept a steady pace.

But even her steady pace was too much for the rest. Only those three managed to stay close behind, barely keeping up.

Kelly tried to stick with Natalie at first, but he just couldn’t keep up Eventually, he let it go and just ran at his own pace.

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